Trouble in Paradise
by MakingLuvOutOfNothing
Summary: Bethanys father was the captain of the airplane and is now stuck on the island with the LOTF boys. Will be changed to rated M later on, warning. :
1. Chapter 1

**_Authors Note:_ So, I'm not sure what happened but I was going to finally update this story today and when I went to go open it (to refresh my memory because it's been about a year- which I'm sorry for by the way) it was gone. Actually, my other story is too so I'm not sure what happened. Luckily I had saved it to my mibba account and it was still there even though I deleted that account. So now I'm going to repost it.**

**I remember I had changed the boy's ages so I don't feel like a complete pedo. (Because obviously I am, I'm just in denial) I don't remember what they were so that just means I get to choose again. So here we go. Ralph=17 Jack=18 Simon=15 SamnEric=whatever age they were in the books/movies because they aren't potential love interests anyway xD Also, since I don't have your comments if you would care to let me know which (out of Simon, Ralph, or Jack) guy Bethany should end up with please let me know in the comments.**

**Now that I'm done rambling, happy reading. Let me know what you think. If you've already read what I had before, you may be happy to know chapter six should be up by tomorrow. No promises though cause apparently I suck at keeping them when it comes to writing haha.**

Having a pilot as a father is definitely not bunches of fun. It means that I have practically been raised at an airport and have spent most of my childhood on an airplane. It also doesn't help very much that I have a fear of heights and feel less than secure with flying.

But what can I do? We don't pick out parents, and after my mother died my father's only option was to take me on the plane with him. After all he couldn't very well leave a six year old home alone all the time, and being a pilot doesn't exactly bring home enough cash to hire a house keeper. Of course I'm not six years old anymore, and you would think my father would finally consider me old enough to look after myself.

However, I think it's more likely that the reason he still takes me with him isn't that he doesn't trust me but more in the realm of that he is used to having me on flights with him. He's not one for letting go easily and he already lost my mother.

Before I go on I should probably tell you that this is not a sob story, my mother past away when I was six and yes I miss her but I also know she is in a better place. My father on the other hand hasn't gotten over her death, she was his first and only love, what do you expect?

I should probably also tell you a little about myself. My name is Bethany, more commonly called Beth, or Bethy by people I am close to. I was born on January 4th 1974 making me sixteen years old. And at this very moment I am sitting on an airplane flying a bunch of boy's home from military school. I sit with my seatbelt tightly fastened even though my father has informed us we don't need them on, and firmly clutched in my hand is an air sick bag.

It's not that I don't trust my father to get us there in one piece, I am almost 100% sure that he will, it just makes me feel much safer knowing I am buckled in, and the air sick bag is there for obvious reasons.

Beside me sits a kid with straight blonde hair, cut in a sort of mushroom cut. Come to think of it a majority of the boys on this plane were sporting similar if not identical hair dos. I guess it's some kind of weird military school thing. His eyes are a beautiful ocean blue and as much as I hate sounding like your typical boy obsessed sixteen year old girl, he was very handsome. Right now he is leaning around the seat in front of him, whispering to a less attractive boy with dirty blonde hair.

You know that feeling you get when someone right beside you is talking about you? Well at this moment I am overwhelmed with that very feeling. It could be just me being paranoid, or it could be the fact that he is whispering and every once in a while him or the other boy stop their conversation to look in my direction.

Finally he stops his conversation to lean back almost pompously in his seat, the other boy now looking around his seat directly at me.

"So…" he begins looking down at his nails and not at anybody in particular. For a second I think maybe he's continuing his conversation with the boy in front of him, only less discreetly. But then he turns his head towards me looking me straight in the eyes. "I don't mean to pry but me and my friend Roger…" he says pointing a finger to the other boy who in turn waves at me. "…were wondering why you're here, on this plane."

"Well you waste no time in getting to the point, do you?" I said glaring at him, I preferred to be an invisible presence I hated it when people paid tribute to the fact that I was there.

"Well I guess so, but it's a natural question. I mean this plane is supposed to be for the kids flying home from St. Johns military academy, which is an all boy's school. And since I don't see any signs of you being a boy it seems to be the obvious question to ask."

"Well maybe I…" I begin but am not able to finish. At this moment the plane begins to shake violently cutting me off mid sentence.

"Everybody this is your captain speaking. We seem to be having a bit of technical difficulties at this time I ask that everybody remain seated with your seat belts tightly fastened and…."

The plane shakes again this time causing the lights to flicker, luggage to fall out of the over head cubbies, and a shriek or two from some of the younger passengers. Utter chaos takes over the plane and my last thought before my vision goes black is, 'My fears are coming true.'


	2. Chapter 2

It was almost silent around me except for a few small noises and the occasional crunching of what sounded like leaves. I didn't know how long I had been in this spot but it seemed to be quite a while since I had woken up. I remained unaware of my surroundings as I kept my eyes firmly closed, fearing what I might see if I opened them. However I listened intently for any sign of where I may be.

When I first awoke I remember hoping that maybe, just maybe I was in my bed and that any minute my dad would come in to wake me up for school. That the plane crash was all just a terrible nightmare; after all I've heard that if you die in a dream you also die in real life. Maybe that's why everything went black right before the plane actually went down. But after letting denial subside and my senses kick in I realized that unless my bed had suddenly become hard and scratchy and my blanket and pillows disappeared while I was sleeping, the chances of this were slim.

Besides I remembered everything about it so vividly, there was no way it was a dream.

"Do you think she's awake yet?" I heard someone say from what seemed to be a good distance away, making it sound like nothing more than a whisper.

Followed by this voice was another more gentle than the last, after a breathe of annoyance "I've already told you, I don't know Jack. She didn't look good when I brought her here and Simon would probably have told us if she woke up. Relax; she'll wake up when she's ready."

"I know, I know. It's going to be awesome having a girl on the island all to ourselves. Maybe if I'm lucky ill get a little action… maybe if you're lucky ill share." Jack spoke with an arrogance that made me want to hit him.

"We don't own her Jack; she's a person and can decide for herself whether or not she wants to sleep with you. I'll have to make sure to advice her not to." The other boy said back making me want to hug him. I was really beginning to dislike this Jack kid.

I heard a thump which sounded like someone being pushed to the ground, then someone complaining about their arm followed by another thump and then laughter. The laughter stopped quickly and then the calm, controlled voice of the boy who was not Jack spoke quietly. "Well…. At least she's not as bad off as the captain, I'm really not sure if he's going to make it."

I tried to contain the gasp that threatened to escape me, my father wasn't ok. I realized then that I should open my eyes. I needed to see how he was, what condition he was in. But before I could make a move to open them a soft voice from beside me spoke up.

"I think she's been awake for a little while now. She hasn't opened her eyes yet though. The captain stopped mumbling a little while back and fell asleep."

I was surprised that I hadn't noticed there were two bodies beside me before; I must really suck at determining my surroundings. I made up my mind and slowly opened up my eyes, momentarily blinded by the bright sun that flashed in my face. I saw that in front of me there were two boys, obviously the ones having the conversation beforehand. They were on the beach while I was located more into the woods. I recognized Jack with his arrogant, yet somehow cute (damn teenage hormones) smirk.

Next to him was another, less familiar face. I remember seeing him as he boarded the plane. He was handsome with curly dark brown hair in almost the same cut as Jacks. His eyes were a soft hazel which was illuminated by the bright sunlight. A few freckles were scattered across his cheekbones and over his nose. He had an athletic boxer-like body and the perfect 'I just got out of a tanning bed' tan. To be completely honest I definitely thought he was cute.

I looked beside me and saw that my father was covered in netting, looking as if he were sleeping peacefully. The only sign that he was injured being the white material wrapped around his head, blood seeping through it. I wanted to get up and run to him, cry into his shoulder and have him comfort me the way only a parent can. But if he was really in as bad of shape as these boys gave the impression he was I think I may be the one comforting him.

In the middle of my father and I was a younger looking boy with a vacant expression on his face. While his face was young and delicate looking his eyes seemed wise beyond his years. The way he looked into the distance with his ocean blue eyes showed the image of a boy who has seen many things in his short lifetime. He has blonde curly hair the same cut as all the other boys and was wearing the bottoms to the school uniform but had taken off the top and was left with a plain white t-shirt.

"That's good, why do you think she hasn't opened here eyes? Do you think she's o…." The brown haired boy began.

"She's awake!" Jack screamed running towards me.

"Daddy…" I whispered looking at my father and reaching a hand out in his direction. "DADDY!" I screamed pitifully this time, ignoring logic and racing towards him. Tears rained down my face as I hugged his legs and sobbed. Everything was starting to seep in, making me begin to understand the situation. I would be stuck here, on some random island, for god only knows how long with a bunch of hormonal teenage boys and annoying little kids. My dad may die and I have no clue what my fate may be.

I felt the others watch helplessly as I lay at my father's feet in front of them, an emotional wreck. Usually my pride would have taken over by now and I would attempt to gain composure. However this was different, this time there were more serious things to cry over then Jenna Huffermen calling me ugly. This time my life and many others were on the line, this was the beginning of many things to cry over.


	3. Chapter 3

You know those times when you meet somebody or see somebody on television whose life flat out sucks and you think to yourself, "Well at least my life isn't as bad as that person's"? It's a terrible thing to think, really, but we all have at some point. It makes us feel better about our own lives. Well up until now I've been the person who's thought this, not the person it's being thought about. But I know that this is what's going through these boy's minds as I sit here next to my injured father for what has to be at least three hours straight.

I am not crying anymore, that passed about an hour ago. But I know my eyes, which are staring ahead of me at nothing in particular, have to be all puffy and red. My knees are pinned to my chest as I rock slowly back and forth like a character on some dumb lifetime movie. Only a few people are left surrounding me since most of the boys lost interest a while ago. But for a while there I felt like I was on display at a car show, and I was the newest model, so everyone that walked by stopped to stare at me.

The only boys whom remain are Ralph, Simon, and another boy whose name I learned was Piggy (or at least that's what the boys called him). Jack left a while ago, as soon as he realized his pathetic attempts at consoling me weren't helping even the slightest bit. But Piggy still hasn't given up, though his encouragement that everything is going to be ok has long ago become just background noise. Simon and Ralph have taken a different approach and haven't said one word since their mutters of gratitude at Jack's departure.

In my peripheral vision I can see Ralph picking pieces off of a twig he must've found on the ground around him and Simon looking at me intently, a worried look aging his child-like face.

I know I can't stay like this forever, it isn't helping the situation we are all facing at all; all it is really doing is preventing us from coming up with a plan of attack for how to survive on this island and also how to get off of it. But it's really hard to care much about anything when you just found out that your father might be dying - wait! That's just it, he may be dying, he's not dead yet. And while he can't be in control of this situation he would want me to take charge.

"I'm done with this." I whisper, causing the boys to jump a bit at the sound of my voice after I've been silent for so long.

"What was that?" Ralph asked me in a tone somebody would use to talk to a child.

"I said I am done with this, which I am." I say while jumping onto my feet and calling for the rest of the boys to come to me, in order for us to make any plans I am going to have to call a meeting.

"What's wrong with her now?"

I hear Jack ask this in his usual condescending tone and in response focus all of my built up annoyance towards him into a single death glare powerful enough to scare even the strongest of men, which I aim directly at him.

"You want to know what's wrong with me." I start out slowly making sure there is enough venom in each word to express my anger towards Jack. "What's wrong with me is that I am stuck on an island with you, my dad is probably dying as we speak and you haven't stopped annoying the piss out of me since the plane, which probably crashed itself to get away from your narcissistic, pain in the ass self! Add all that up and you want to know what's wrong with me? You! You're what is flipping wrong with me!" I yell, completely fuming now.

Jack just stares at me in shock while Ralph, Simon, and Piggy suppress laughter. Jack notices this and mumbles "whatever" before starting to walk away. I however grab him by the arm to prevent him from leaving.

I see a smirk form on his lips and his mouth open to say something but before he can make the words come out I say, "I think we are going to need a meeting to decide how to go about things." I say this coolly to no one in particular as if my little out burst didn't just happen.

"That's a great idea." Says Jack surprisingly cheerfully for someone who just got screamed at.

"Thank you." I say with a victorious smile.

"Which was exactly what we thought when Ralph called the assembly yesterday."

I ignore his sarcastic remark and go straight into my main concern. "Yesterday? How long have I been unconscious for?"

"It's been about two days now, but don't worry we have everything worked out. We have a fire going so a ship will see it and rescue us and-" Ralph begins but is cut off by Jack.

"And we have hunters to get meat for us; i'm in charge of the hunters." Jack adds with a smug grin. "Ralph is captain; so he's in charge of everyone else, but if you ask me being a hunter is way cooler." He whispers the last part at me causing me to roll my eyes.

"Hmmm…. I don't know. I kind of think being captain is like way cooler!" I say running over to Ralph and wrapping my arms around his neck while pecking him on the cheek in my best impersonation of one of the typical blonde bimbos I assume Jack is used to.

"Whatever, I'm done with this, besides we need meat; I'm going hunting." Jack says obviously pissed off before stomping away like a child throwing a tantrum.

Ralph, Piggy, and even Simon seem very relieved that Jack left and I know for sure I am. As soon as he gets far enough out that I can't see him anymore I take my arms off of Ralph and take a seat next to Simon who has been tending to my father. Ralph sighs and takes a seat beside me.

"Ralph, I think it is someone else's turn for fire watch, SamnEric have been there for a while now and will probably start complaining soon," says Piggy to Ralph who in turn lets out another sigh of annoyance before standing up.

"I'll take fire watch I guess, want to come with me? You're eventually going to have to do this anyway and might as well get it over with now," he says to me.

"Eh, sure." I figure I feel pretty comfortable around Ralph, at least if I have to do fire watch I want it to be with someone I feel comfortable with.

Ralph smiles and begins walking away; I take that as my queue to follow him, which I do. The walk is pretty long and i'm still exhausted from crying but at least Ralph isn't pressuring me to talk, which i'm thankful for. Instead we walk in comfortable silence. Occasionally one of us will look at the other who will in turn smile shyly and then we'll go back to walking without making contact with each other. We pass a couple of the little boys playing and they all stop what they are doing to look at me curiously. I wave at them but they just continue to stare. It doesn't bother me though it makes me smile thinking that even though we're in such a serious situation these little boys can still manage to fool around and have fun, I think that maybe us older kids could learn something from them. We walk up a hill and once we make it to the top I see two identical boys who look about 13 or 14 sitting by a small fire. I figure they must be SamnEric; I smile a wide grin at them which seems to take them by surprise. "We have come to release you of your duty," I say playfully taking a seat by the fire.

The two boys look at each other and then at Ralph and say in unison "Finally!" before jumping to they're feet and giving each other high fives and running down the hill. I can't help but letting out a small laugh at their behavior.

"So, what's your name anyway?" I am startled by a voice surprisingly close to me, I turn my head and see Ralph sitting right beside me and looking at me with an expectant look.

"Oh, it's eh- Bethany but please call me Beth. Bethany makes me sound like i'm one of those snobby rich girls who call their parents mother and father and have coming out parties." I say cringing, my aunt's family is like that and her daughters drive me insane during the summer when my father sends me down there for a week or so.

Ralph lets out a real laugh- the first real laugh I think I've heard out of him. And I like how it sounds, he has a nice laugh it's actually really cute. Its one of those laughs that you could just listen to all day, one of those laughs that you cant just hear and not smile or laugh in return. After everything that's happened lately and after how long it's been since I've heard genuine laughter I couldn't help but to laugh in return.

"So you're Ralph, right?" I ask him even though I know very well who he is, but he doesn't know that and I figure it's the polite thing to do.

"Yeah." He says simply and then we fade into another awkward silence.

"Well this pretty much sucks, huh?" I ask trying to make conversation. When he looks at me confused I add. "You know being stuck on this island, I know it's definitely an inconvenience for me and I can't imagine it was on your to do list either." As I say this I pick up a handful of twigs off the ground and throw them into the fire.

He chuckles. "Yeah, by the way; i'm really sorry about your dad and I know all the other boys are to, even Jack he just doesn't show it much."

"Yeah well i'm not so sure about the Jack thing; I pretty much think he's just a dick who mostly cares about getting in my pants, but thanks."

"Well on the second thought you may be right, he hasn't shut up about the 'perks of having a girl on the island' since we got here."

We share another little laugh. You know, maybe it wont be so bad here, maybe I've just been way to pessimistic. Ralph is pretty cool and there's always a possibility that Jack could get eaten by some sort of sea creature. My dads a fighter so I bet he'll be fine in no time and he'll find a way to get us back to civilization. So really I don't know what there is to freak out about, we should be fine here.

Boy was I wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

I must have fallen asleep at some point because I hear a soft voice whispering my name and a hand gently touching my arm and suddenly bolt upright. I look in front of me to see a startled Ralph, his hand is no longer on my arm and his eyes are wide from surprise. I look up to see that the once light blue sky above me has changed to a pitch black starless night. I look across me to the opposite side of the fire and see Piggy and Simon sitting there. Piggy is silently drawing pictures with his fingers in the dirt and Simon is watching me, his usual serene look on his face.

I quickly rub the sleep out of my eyes and then put both hands behind me for balance. Last thing I remember was lying down to get more comfortable; I must have decided to close my eyes for a minute and fallen asleep.

I look at Ralph again and say sleepily, "Does this mean I have to do fire watch again?"

A small smile creeps up onto Ralph's face and he chuckles lightly. "Nah, if I had really wanted to I would have woke you back up, but you needed sleep you looked exhausted. Besides Piggy and Simon are here to watch the fire now.

I return his smile and mutter a quick thank you before standing up and beginning to walk back down the mountain. But I don't walk more than a step past Ralph before I realize I don't even know where I'm supposed to sleep. "Er… where am I sleeping?" I ask him while turning to face him.

He chuckles again like he was waiting for me to ask that, which he probably was. "Follow me, I'll show you."

He walks in front of me, starting down the mountain without waiting for me, I quickly wave goodbye to Simon and Piggy before following after him. We walk in silence as we did on our way up the mountain, but I don't really mind it because for some reason silence is not uncomfortable with him. This time as we walk though there are no little boys walking around and I figure they must all already be asleep. "Ralph?" I whisper suddenly thinking of a good question to ask him to break the silence. It may be a comfortable silence but I'm the type of person who prefers there to be conversation going on.

"What's up?" he asks quickly looking over his shoulder at me and then slowing down so he falls into pace with me.

"I was just wondering, who's watching the kids right now?"

"Jack and his hunters, which is why we need to get back." He says with a smirk.

I laugh quietly in response and we walk the rest of the way in silence. We finally make it to a quiet section of the island with two forts that the boys must have put up while I was unconscious. In them are all the boys sleeping soundly. At our approach Jack opens his eyes and sleepily looks up at us, "You can sleep next to me if you want." He says to me, apparently not too tired to come on to me or to make his signature smirk.

I look at Ralph pleadingly. "Actually Jack, I already asked her if she wanted to sleep next to me, and she agreed." He says giving me a reassuring smile.

"Alright, maybe tomorrow then." He says before falling back to sleep.

"Fat chance." I mutter not loud enough for anyone to hear, though Ralph appears to as a small smile creeps up on his lips.

"We'll sleep over here." He says lying down in the fort that Jack wasn't in.

I nod my head and lay beside him. I take a quick look at him; he seems to have already fallen asleep. He's real cute when he's sleeping; it makes him look very young. I smile to myself before closing my own eyes and falling into a peaceful slumber.

I recline back in a throne, closing my eyes with a smile on my mouth as I sit in paradise. I am the queen here, wherever here is and I am enjoying the peace that doing nothing all day but sitting back in a throne as people do your bidding brings a person. I can feel something dangling above my mouth and open my eyes so see that its grapes, but not just any grapes, the greenest juiciest grapes I've ever seen in my life. I look up to see who's holding them and meet a pair of familiar light blue eyes, Jacks eyes. "This is how things are supposed to be." I whisper and nod my head, grinning ear to ear at the thought of Jack serving me. I look down towards my feet were someone is giving me a foot massage and see that the someone is actually someone's, SamnEric.

I'm about to open my mouth to except the grape Jack is offering me when Ralph enters the room; Piggy and Simon following close behind him. Piggy is holding some type of shell in his hands and looking at me with a sad expression on his face. Simon is standing behind him with the same exact expression. Ralph walks over to me standing on the opposite side of my throne as Jack and surprises me by leaning into me, his face mere millimeters from my own and slowly he closes the gap between them, pressing his lips softly to my own. The kiss only lasts a second before he pulls away and as my eyes are still closed and my lips still pursed he whispers, "Choose me, my queen."

He starts to walk away but is stopped by a furious Jack, who now holds a stick sharpened at both ends to Ralph's neck. But before he can make a move to hurt him Simon steps between the two of them and this is when I realize what is particularly strange about this dream, apart from my words and the four words Ralph said to me, it is completely silent. I mean, if you dropped a pin on the floor I wouldn't be surprised if the sound was deafening.

Simon appears to be saying words of protest to Jack, his hands waving around wildly but by the look on Jacks face and everyone else's in the room nobody else can hear what he's saying either. Jack, now ignoring Simon snaps his fingers and all the boys in the room apart from Ralph and Piggy, who simply watch the scene in silence, charge towards Simon and begin to attack him in any way they can.

I try screaming in an attempt to stop them, but when I open my mouth to, nothing comes out. They back away which allows Simon to fall onto the floor face first with a thud, dead. Then they turn towards Piggy I try again to scream in protest and this time water is thrown in my face.

Wait, what?

I wake up in an instant, my face now freezing to chuckling and a familiar arrogant voice saying "good job." I slowly sit up wiping water off my face with one hand while giving the blonde boy in front of me a look of pure hatred. "Really?" I ask rhetorically with venom in my voice.

He puts his hands up as if to surrender. "Ralph told me to wake you up. I was going to do it myself but what can I say, Rogers a mean guy, he insisted in doing it himself. But if you need, I don't know a shoulder to cry on, I'm here."

"..fine." I say each word separately. Then I jump to my feet and yell, "After I kill Roger!" He lets out a fake girly scream (or at least I think it's fake) before running as I chase after him. I'm laughing now as I jump onto his back, the sudden addition of weight causing him to tumble to the ground.

"I win!" I scream straddling his back and giving him a noogie. Let's just say, I've hung out with mostly guys all my life, I know how to play rough.

"Actually," Jack begins with a smirk," I think he wins." He says while looking at Roger who is sporting a similar smirk.

I sit beside a tree as Piggy scolds some boy, whose name I don't know, about eating berries here. I agree with Piggy 100% but think he could be a little less 'I know everything' about it. Across from us Jack and a couple other boys are putting up a third fort which in all honesty we definitely need, it's pretty cramped in the forts. I wonder for a second were Ralph is, I heard him yelling at Jack about needing to help build forts, but I haven't physically seen him yet today.

"Listen to Piggy." I say to the boy in the tree. "He has a point, and we don't want anyone dying on us, except maybe Jack." I say with a smirk. Jack hears this and looks my way, rolls his eyes quickly, and makes a typical boy sound in his throat that clearly says 'whatever' but doesn't say anything out loud.

"Yeah, we gotta take precautions, or it won't matter." Piggy continues causing me to give him a 'just let it go' look.

"What won't matter?" Jack chimes in continuing his work on the fort but turning his head our way. I have to admit, it may be the expression he's making, or the way he is doing manual labor with only his school pants on, drops of sweat scattered across his face. Or the way he seems to get in a serious mood as he works, but he definitely looks cute right now.

I must have zoned out cause the next thing I hear is Piggy's voice raising a bit as he says, "What are you talking about?"

"Just being logical," Jack begins in response, "a plane goes down in the middle of nowhere, there's no wreckage, whose gonna find us?"

"Why don't you just shut up?" Piggy says in response, surprising the hell out of me.

Apparently Jack to because he looks taken aback for a second before he says," Are you telling me to shut up?"

"Ut oh, here comes the battle of masculinity." I mutter but don't think anybody registers it.

"What we need around here are positive people, not people trying to scare other people." Piggy continues.

"What we don't need around here is you, shit brains."

One of the twins (don't ask me which) chimed in with, "His names not shit brain!" and together the both of them yelled, "Its Piggy!"

"Yeah Piggy!" Jack yells pointing and laughing at him before giving each of the twins a high five.

At this point I'm getting really angry, I know even I have been calling him Piggy but I now realize for the first time that that probably really upsets him. Where stuck on this island for god knows how long, there's no need for name calling. The look on Piggy's face shows complete sadness. He looks like he's about to cry and something about that strikes a chord in me. I am about to stand up and get in Jacks face when Ralph's voice stops me.

"Shut up! Everybody just shut up!"

He takes Piggy to the side and tells him how the only reason they are treating him poorly is because he is new. Which is bullshit, but at least he's being nice. What Piggy says in response though breaks my heart. "No its not, it's always like this." He says the last part softly in a sad tone.

This is when I lose it; Jack is really pissing me off. I jump onto my feet and charge towards Jack, slapping him across his face. His face whips to the side with my hand and then he puts his hand on his cheek, turning his head slowly to face me with a surprised look.

"Jesus Christ!" I scream, "What the fuck is wrong with you! What the hell did Piggy ever do to you, huh? All he did was tell you to shut up because there are little kids on this island who don't need to hear things like that, that might scare them. You guys are so selfish and immature, I'm sick of it!" I scream before turning around and walking off.

I decide to make it my goal to ask Piggy for his real name at some point within the next few days. I don't like to tell people it, but I know what it's like to be picked on. All throughout elementary and middle school I was practically the least popular kid at school, and while I'm not picked on (that much) anymore and I have more friends (though I'm far from popular) I still remember what it feels like to be made fun of, it sucks.

You see, when I was younger I was short and fat, my dark brown hair lay in a frizzy heap on my head, I put on way to much makeup and to add on to the humiliation my parents made me get braces in sixth grade. Of course over the summer coming into 9th grade I went to fat camp and got my braces off. I worked my ass off at fat camp (unfortunately not literally) and now have a relatively curvy figure (though I could use more in the boobage department). I became friends with this girl Lexy at fat camp, she was one of those girls that were still drop dead gorgeous even though she was heavy and you hate to think how pretty she would be thinner. She was a makeup and hair expertise. She taught me how to do my makeup, bringing out my chocolate brown eyes which she claimed was my best feature and trying to draw attention away from my lips which are kind a thin. Every day she would straighten my hair and by the end of the summer I could even do it on my own.

When I got back from camp I bought my own straighter and even figured out how to leave my hair wavy without it getting all frizzy. But back to my point, I know what it's like when everybody calls you names and you can't speak your opinion without being laughed at. So I feel for Piggy and definitely want to befriend him.

"Hey Bethany." I hear a soft voice say and look over my shoulder to see Simon sitting beside my father, an adorable green lizard in his hands.

I respond with a simple hi, trying my best not to let my bad mood make me sound angry. I take a seat beside my father, lightly kissing his forehead and then sit beside Simon and stroke the lizard in his hands. "Isn't he just adorable?" I say in my voice which I reserve for talking to babies and cute animals.

Simon smiles a small smile. "You like lizards?" he more states than asks but I still respond to him with a yep. "That's good, most girls don't."

"Well I'm not most girls." I say with a smirk.

He blushes before whispering, "I know."

I laugh lightly. "So can I hold it?" Realizing what I just said I start to crack up. 'That's what she said.' I think but don't say out loud, not wanting to embarrass Simon.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Oh nothing, I just thought of something that happened yesterday. Can I hold the lizard?" I ask again, this time rewording it.

"Sure" he says passing it over to me.

I pet it while thinking of something else to say, Simon doesn't seem like the type to fill the silence. Finally thinking of something I smirk and turn my head towards him. "What did you name it?"

He laughs quietly, a softer laugh than Ralphs but still a nice one. "Why would I name it?"

"Don't you think it should have a name?" I ask. "Otherwise it will never know who it is, and I don't think we should confuse the poor guy."

"I see your point but I don't think he will know the difference."

"Well that's just inconsiderate; lizards have feeling to you know." I say fake defensively.

"I guess so" he says, but I can tell he just is sick of arguing about it. "You can name it if you want."

"Ok, do you think it's a boy lizard or a girl lizard?"

He laughs again, only this time a little bit louder. I think for a second I may be actually getting him out of his shell but change my mind when he stops laughing and puts that same serious look he usually wears back on his face, but I swear I still see a twinkle in his eye. "It's a lizard; I don't think it's possible to tell."

"Can't you use your imagination a bit?" I ask jokingly. "I think it's a boy because he definitely seems to be taking a liking to me." I say pointing to the lizard that has positioned himself on my shoulder, and shows no signs of moving any time soon. "And I think he looks like a Chester."

"Chester?" Simon questions.

"What? You don't like it?" I ask him making a pouty face.

"No, it's just that that isn't a typical name for a lizard."

"Now Simon, what have I said about generalizing things like that, Chester is not your typical lizard and he would appreciate it if you stopped treating him like he is. Isn't that right Chester? Geez when will people stop discriminating against lizards. When I get back to civilization I'm definitely going to have a rally."

"Bethany!" a soft voice calls and I turn my head to see Ralph running towards me.

"Oh, hey Ralph." I say, faking a smile as he sits beside me and Simon moves closer to my father, seeming uncomfortable for some reason. He smiles at me and then nods at Simon. "What's up?"

"Not much, I just wanted to make sure you were ok, you know after the whole Jack thing. Jack really deserved it but you seemed pretty upset. You ok?"

"Yup."

"That's good." Ralph says with a smile. "I'd love to talk with you some more but I gotta call an assembly. But maybe tonight if you wanted to talk about things we could." He says with a nervous laugh.

What I do is mutter, "Definitely." But what I really want to do is break into a happy dance. 'Ralph wants to talk to me!' My head is screaming over and over again as Ralph gets up and picks up a big shell from on top of a rock. The same exact shell I saw in my dream.


	5. Chapter 5

Ralph picks up the shell and blows into it with all his might. I stare at him; my jaw dropped but quickly shake it off. After all, just because I saw the same shell in my dream doesn't mean anything. I probably saw it before briefly and my subconscious happened to remember it. I walk towards Ralph and take a seat beside him. He had just finished blowing on the shell and was now, I assumed, waiting for the oncoming mob of small children. I pick up the shell from the ground in front of him and examine it. Yep, definitely the same one from my dream.

"Hey Ralph, what's this you got here?" I ask with a small smile, trying to act like I wasn't overly interested.

Ralph was leaning back on his hands and basking in the sunlight which was directly hitting his face. It made him look like a Greek god, but I brushed off that thought and tried to concentrate on his answer. He looked up at me squinting and holding his hand over his eyes. "Oh yeah, I forgot to fill you in. Piggy tells us that that's a conch shell. I figure he must be right; he seems like the smart type anyway. That shell has become our way to sort of keep order around here."

I shoot him a look so he says, "Well, I said sort of. Anyway, I blow the shell and the kids drop what there doing and come here to see what I want. It's a pretty good system actually."

"Damn I missed a lot while I was unconscious. Remind me not to do that again." I say with a grin which he returns.

Kids are walking by and taking seats, I notice they're much quieter when Ralph is there. As they sit hardly any of them make a sound which is very different from every other time I've seen them. Though it may just be because it's meeting time.

"You got these kids wrapped around your finger, huh?" I ask him.

"Nah, there like this before meetings, it's like they expect there to be some big news, like our parents are coming or something. As soon as it starts up and they realize I just need to nag at them all this changes." He says with a smile gesturing in front all around him as if to show me what he meant.

I hear the sound of leaves crunching and cringe as I hear Jacks voice. I turn to see him walking over with all the other older kids trailing behind him. "What is it now?" he asks with his snake-like smile and a small chuckle. The guys around him laugh to, Rogers is the most distinct because of the malice within it. Jack takes a seat beside Ralph as if he is trying to send a signal to the other kids that he's Ralph's equal.

Ralph is now sitting up straight and looking slightly uncomfortable. Jack notices me sitting in front of him and shoots a smirk in my direction, which I promptly rolled my eyes at in response.

Ralph stands up and clears his throat before speaking. "The reason I called this assembly…" he begins glaring at Jack quickly. "Is that too many people are screwing around when they should be working. I mean, there's a bunch of things actually. Some kids don't even know when to use the bathroom." He spoke to the crowd and I couldn't help being impressed how easily it seemed to come to him, being a leader I mean.

Before he could say anything else one of the twins broke in with, "Yeah, there was this one kid, the other day who took a shit in his pants and then sat in it. I'm not naming any names because it's possible that Mickey couldn't help it." He said before bursting into fits of laughter which most of the other kids jumped in on.

I looked over at the kid who appeared to be the object of there laughter. He was an adorable little boy who couldn't have been more then six years old and at the moment looked about ready to cry. As the kids continued to laugh he got even closer to tears and I couldn't take it anymore. "Okay boys that is enough!" I yelled. I must of looked appalled by there behavior because they all quieted down. "Now leave Mickey alone." I said with finality and offered Mickey my hand. When he took it I pulled him into my lap and motioned for Ralph to continue.

"All I mean is that we gotta have a little more discipline. And more spear fishing, we gotta have real food. That's all I have to say, does anybody else want the conch?" He finished and took a seat.

At this point kids starting shouting things out without regards to the conch. "Somebody stole my pocket knife!" one kid yelled.

"Things keep disappearing all over." Another kid called out.

"Yeah, what are we going to do with thieves when we catch em?" said a third and final kid.

This seemed to be the last straw because at this point Ralph finally decided it was time to reclaim the order that had been there just a minute ago. "Okay okay! We can't have kids stealing and running wild, we're gonna have to have stricter rules. And hand out demerits… I guess." He said the last part uncertainly.

"Demerits?" one of Jacks friends choked out with a hint of a laugh. "Demerits for grand larceny?"

I choke back laughter at this, earning myself a glare from Roger, who honestly gives me the creeps. He just seems like that one kid at school who everyone fully anticipates to lose it one day and shoot everyone up. Not exactly the type of person whose bad side you want to be on, so with great effort I manage not to make a smart ass retort.

"Eat shit and die!" Another boy adds, this time I shoot him a glare. I know the kids have been swearing a lot but I can't seem to get used to it. It still bugs me every time one of them curses in front of me. Some of these boys are as young as eight and are dropping the f bomb left and right. It's almost disturbing to me. The boy either didn't see me or is pretending he didn't because he doesn't even look my way. Figures.

Once the cacophony of noises dies down a little boy who I recognize as Peter quietly steps forward. He's an adorable kid probably around eight or nine and when he speaks he seems even younger. He looks up at Ralph with big brown eyes. "Sir, are we ever going home?" he asks in a quiet voice.

"Of course we are, as soon as they see out signal." Ralph says gently.

"Jack says that we're never going home." He says dejectedly.

"Yeah, well Jack's an asshole." I say without even meaning to, it just slips out, not that I make any move to take it back.

Jack looks at me with fire in his eyes, and not of the good variety. "Believe whatever you want Bethany. Go ahead and give these kids false hope, but at least I'm being honest. You know as well as I do the probability of us being rescued. There are eight million islands out there, what makes you think there going to find this one?" he says before getting up and storming off into the woods.

I don't really understand why he is so upset, it's not like he isn't fully aware that I hate him. And up until now he's just brushed off all my comments. Roger shoots me another glare, I'm starting to wonder if that's just the way his face is set, before marching off after Jack.

I shake my head. "Okay Ralph, I think we should probably just end this meeting for now, unless there's anything else you wanted to discuss." Ralph shakes his head no and tells the boys they're free to run off and play. They all disperse within a minute leaving me, yet again, alone with Ralph.

When all the boys have left, Ralph and I stand there awkwardly for a moment. He looks down at the ground as he moves the conch shell from one hand to the other. I sigh, breaking the silence and Ralph looks up from the ground. "That was weird with Jack. I mean, I don't really mean to be a bitch to him but he's just so infuriating sometimes." I say throwing my hands in the air for emphasis. "And he needs to be more careful how he talks to these kids. The last thing they need is to think we're stuck here permanently… the last thing I need is to be reminded of that." I say with a sigh.

Ralph walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder. I look up and smile slightly, "Do you believe in destiny?" I ask him. He looks at me funny so I elaborate, "I mean do you believe that everything is pre-determined? Like maybe we were meant to end up on this island, and everything will work out the way it's supposed to."

He thinks for a minute before answering. "I believe that sometimes if you think positively, like that, then everything will work out for the best."

"What you put out into the universe comes back at you ten fold…" I smile sadly to myself. "My dad used to always tell me that, he's always been a big believer in mind over matter and all that."

I half expect Ralph to feel uncomfortable with my being so real with him, from my experience guys don't like that to much. But it almost seems like he's more relaxed talking frankly. "Your father was right. I also believe, and I'm sure your dad would agree, that a lot of that positive energy comes from the way you treat people." He gives me a look that shocks me a little, it's like he had met my dad before, when he was awake and well I mean. It's that look he used to give me when he was making a point and was waiting for me to pick up on it.

"I think karma understands and will make an exception for Jack Merridew." I saw with a scoff turning towards the deep blue ocean. The sun is beginning to set and I get a shiver as a breeze passes by me. In another situation this island really would be quite beautiful, stunning really.

I feel Ralph beside me, his warm breathe gently blowing against the side of my face. I close my eyes and just feel the warmth that seems to radiate from his body. With one hand he gently places a strand of my hair behind my ear, and then runs his hand down the side of my head, finally resting it on my cheek. As soon as its there it's gone, for a second I question whether the motion really even took place. "Maybe you should just try having a talk with him, I don't expect you two to become best friends but it would be good to at least be civil with him." If we had had a moment his voice didn't give it away.

I take in a deep breathe because regardless of what he thought, I certainly felt something. My heart is beating at a million miles per hour and I'm suddenly shaking ever so slightly. "I kind of like our relationship, it's healthy to bicker, so really it's a good thing." I give him a big grin which he rolls his eyes at.

"Well, think about it. It wouldn't kill you to try to get along with him." He says weakly. I break into fits of coughing and hit my chest, he smiles despite himself.

I walk backwards smiling at him and wave quickly before turning around and disappearing into the woods. Maybe I'll listen to Ralph; he has a point after all. We have to try and get along or it will be the death of us…


	6. Chapter 6

**Let me start out by thanking the three people who commented on this story after I reposted it. Cherryy13, Mia, and FadedSunset. Thanks for your kind words, and suggestions as to who Bethany should end up with, I'll take them into consideration.  
Also thanks to everyone who had commented before it got deleted, your views on Piggys name and the romance situation have also been noted. I've already chosen a name for him which was one of your suggestions…. Not sure whose though because I can't always be that awesome :P  
So onto the story, this ones a bit filler, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

"Maybe I should talk to him," I think to myself as I walk into the woods, running a hand through my hair and abruptly making a face of disgust. Pulling my hand away I look down at it, not completely convinced it isn't covered in some kind of slimy substance, that's when I remember I haven't showered in days. I feel suddenly sickened at the thought; I have seen myself after only a day or two of not showering and it is never a pretty sight. But after four or five days? It's a miracle the boys can even stand to look at me, let alone hit on me like Jack keeps doing. It takes all my effort not to throw my hands back and shout at the sky, this was so not fair, I'm not sure what I ever did to piss off a higher being so badly.

Grumbling to myself I decide to do something about this, even though I'm not exactly sure what without shampoo, conditioner, or soap. "I'm going to have to take a trip farther down the island." I whisper to myself and start heading towards the right of me. The sun is almost completely gone from the sky now, filling the world around me with the kind of darkness you only find in the middle of nowhere, where there isn't any electricity to provide the sky with even the slightest bit of light. Every so often I stumble over rocks, small animals, and at times even my own two feet- I can't make out what's three feet in front of me. Last night, heading back from fire watch at least I had Ralph with me and the stars brightened the way as well. But this far into the woods the stars were blocked by the huge tropical trees and as a result I was practically enveloped in total blackness. It's not something I take pride in or tell anyone, but I'm deathly afraid of the dark, especially when I'm in it alone.

Quickly my head snaps to the side where I could swear I heard a low and predatory growl. "Oh shit," I whisper, turning immediately and starting at a run back in the direction I came from.

There is a loud "Oomph!" as I slam into something hard and the first thing that comes to mind is that this must be big foot and I'm going to die, acting accordingly I scream at the top of my lungs and turn the other way getting ready to run. Hearing a chuckle I turn back around almost able to see Jack's usual cocky smirk even in the dark. "Jesus Christ Bethany, did I startle you?" he says lazily, leaning forward and flicking my arm.

I roll my eyes and start walking in the direction I had been going before the unwelcome appearance of Jack Merridew, to my dismay he follows. "You know what Jack? I really don't want to fight right now so I'm just going to pretend that little interaction didn't just take place. But as punishment you have to come with me, that way if I get attacked by anything I can feed you to it instead." I turn to give him a stern look, though I realize he can't see it and keep walking.

"But how can I be punished if nothing happened?" he asks slyly, though he continues to follow me.

I let out a groan and stop in my tracks. "Just shut up and follow me, huh?" I ask rhetorically and keep walking. It's silent for a while, but not in the good way that it was walking with Ralph, this is more on the awkward side—I mean I hate the kid. But oddly enough I feel safe with him here, which is odd because I should be worried he might try to make a move on me, but I'm not at all. "So, about what I said earlier," I begin, mostly just trying to break the silence.

Jack holds up a hand and shakes his head. "It really wasn't a big deal, so what, you called me an asshole! What do you want me to do, go cry about it?"

I know he's just trying to keep up his tough guy, nothing can hurt me, act but he still rubs me the wrong way. I turn around, glaring at him through the dark and speak firmly. "What's your problem Jack? All I'm trying to do is apologize to you and you can't even cut the shit for two flipping minutes…" I pause, a little breathless. "You're unbelievable… you know what? Just head back, I'll go the rest of the way alone." I pick up the speed a bit, trying to get as far away from him as possible, but he continues on and in less than a second I feel his hand on my arm—turning me to face him.

"No, I'm sorry Bethany. I mean… about what I just said. I accept your apology but I guess I kind of deserved it anyway," he says with a shrug. I'm stunned for a moment, did Jack Merridew really just admit defeat. "Hey, I can tell you're smiling, stop it," he says, attempting a firm voice but I can tell he wants to laugh.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth. I liked it." I hold out my hand and raise an eyebrow at him. "Truce?" I ask in a soft voice, hoping he won't suddenly start acting like a jerk off again. It's difficult enough on the island without having him to constantly bicker with.

"Truce…" he mutters as if it hurts his ego to do so, but he grabs my hand and gives me a tight handshake before dropping his hand and continuing on. "So, what are we looking for anyway? I can promise you there isn't much of anything in these woods, I should know, I practically know them like the back of my hand now," he says, a lot of pride filling his voice. He now has a stick in his hand and every so often he lifts it and hits a tree branch for emphasis.

I soft trail of pink scatters across my cheeks, and I can feel them grow slightly warm. I try to shake it off, not knowing why I'm embarrassed; I've always been a firm believer that there is nothing awkward about the human form. "Well Jack, you get to take a bath with me you lucky devil," I joke, trying to act tougher than I am.

It's quiet for a moment before he breaks into fits of laughter. "What?" I ask confused, my cheeks becoming an even deeper shade of scarlet.

"Nothing… it's just… we're headed in the wrong direction, the water is that way," he says, pointing to the west. "You go straight and you're just gonna run into rock."

I take in a sudden breath, which makes a hissing sound between my teeth. "This sucks… and it is not funny!" I yell, swatting him on the arm.

xxx

By the time we make it to the water I am sure everybody is already fast asleep. "Why'd you have to do this so late anyway… or so far? There's water right where we're staying," he questions lying down on the sand and yawning loudly.

"Because there are children around and I wanted some privacy," I say pulling my shirt over my head. He instantly shoots up and stares intently. "Oh come on Jack, could you please turn around while I get undressed?" I ask, I counted on it being to dark for him to see me, but realize now that the stars are brighter on the beach and outside the water he can see me clear as day.

To my surprise he doesn't complain, turning around and making some kind of weird grunting sound which sounded like it came from somewhere deep in the back of his throat. I pull off my shorts and then my bra and panties and walk into the water as quickly as I can, making sure I'm completely covered before I tell Jack he can open his eyes. "You coming in?" I ask, with a smirk splashing water in his direction. "The waters actually pretty warm."

He shakes his head in disbelief and gestures for me to turn around, which I gladly do, the last thing I need is to see his man junk and wind up in a catatonic state for the rest of my life. I hear water splashing as he enters the water and then suddenly feel him poke me on the back. I turn around and smile at him. "See? I told you it was nice."

"I never claimed to not believe you." For a moment I'm struck by how… handsome he looks. His golden blonde hair had the moon shining on it and between that and his tanned skin he reminds me almost of Poseidon, the god of the sea. I shake it off, I like Ralph not Jack. Ralph has been nothing but sweet to me and Jack just recently stopped being a total asshole to me. I decide the only reason I'm even thinking like this is because I haven't eaten any real food in days, and besides it's the first time I've ever been naked in the same vicinity as a boy. My hormones are just running rampant. I'm about to move away, maybe splash him to break the tension but suddenly I realize he's looking at me just as intently as I am looking at him. Before I can make a move his hand is on my cheek, running his thumb up and down. And then he does it… he leans forward and his lips press lightly against my own.

For a moment I'm stunned, I don't move my lips or push him away, I just stand there—my lips pressed against his. And then it hits me what is happening and I instantly move away from him, a small squeaking noise I've never heard myself make before coming out of me. "Holy shit…" I mutter, wide eyed. His eyes are wide too as if he can't believe what he just did just as much as I can't believe he did it.

"Well I'm gonna go get my clothes on, we should get going its pretty late," he whispers, refusing to meet my gaze, which is just fine with me.

"Yeah, you should do that. I'm just gonna try to wash my hair a bit and I'll meet you in the woods in five." I take a step back and dunk myself under the water to illustrate my statement, when I get back up he's already at the waters edge and I can see his bare ass. "Oh…" the rest is muddled as I dunk myself under water again as fast as I can manage.


End file.
